Teat dilator



April 24, 1962 E. s. TURNER ETAL I 3,030,960

TEAT DILATOR Filed May 2, 1960 3,030,960 TEAT DILATOR Edwin StanleyTurner and James L. R. Boyce, Guelph,

Ontario, Canada, assignors to Stevenson, Turner and Boyce Limited,Guelph, Ontario, Canada Filed May 2, 1%), Ser. No. 26,648 Claimspriority, application Canada Aug. 21, 1959 1 Claim. (Cl. 128-348) Thisinvention relates to a teat dilator for insertion into the teat canal ofa bovine or caprine animal, particularly cows and goats.

There is now employed a teat dilator having a dilating stern, and alaterally extending base limiting the extent of insertion and a screwcap for closure purposes. The cap is removable for milking with thedilator in place.

The present invention contemplates a dilator of this general type withthe added featureof means which provides for the application andmaintenance of a medicament in contact with the tip and adjoiningregions of the teat orifice which are particularly susceptible tosoreness and infection. More specifically, according to the invention,the base of the dilator is in the form of a cup which is adapted to abutthe end of the teat. By placing medicament in this cup it can bemaintained in continuous contact with the end of the teat.

Having thus generally described the invention a preferred embodiment ofit will now be illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which FIGURE1 is a side elevation of the preferred dilator.

FIGURE 2 is a longitudinal cross-section along the line 2-2 of FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 3 is an exploded view of the lower portion of the dilator withthe sealing cap removed.

FIGURE 4 is a greatly enlarged cross-section of the lower portion of thedilator with the cap in place.

FIGURE 5 shows the dilator in place.

Referring in detail to the drawings, the dilator A is made up of atubular stem 14 having a longitudinal bore 15. The bore 15 extends froman end opening 16 at the thin end 21 of the stem 14 to an opening 24 atthe other end 23 of the stem. A lateral opening 17 is provided in thestem to communicate with the bore 15. A tapered stem 14 gradually widensfrom thin rounded tip to an enlarged portion 18 and then narrows to aneck portion 18a. The stem 14 towards the end 23 carries a flange orbase 22.

In accordance with the invention the base 22 has a cup-like upper partprovided with a concave surface 20 bounded on the outside by a rim 19and on the inside by the stem 14. The stem 14 continues below the body22 to terminate in an exteriorly threaded nipple 32. The nipple 32receives an internally threaded closure cap 25 preferably of the formindicated.

The dimensions of the cup portion of the dilator are as follows. Thediameter of the base is within the range from about A to about A of aninch, for a stem within the range from about .060 to about .175 of aninch. The depth of the cup at its maximum is within the range from aboutto about of an inch.

The rather shallow depression of the cup is to allow the end or orificeof any size teat to seat itself into the medication when the dilator isin place. A deeper and more pronounced cup will accommodate the smallteat of a Jersey heifer, but prohibit the larger teat of a Holstein,which has been milked for several years.

The applicants have found that a cup of the form defined is elfective inembracing the end of the teat and will retain medicament in contact withthe teat for considerable time without annoying the animal. A cupportion of the preferred shape and dimensions has been found highlysatisfactory. It will be understood, however, that this may be variedsomewhat within the scope of the invention provided that the cup portionis adequate to retain a medicament and not too embracing to interferewith easy application and removal of the device. For milking, the cap 25merely has to be removed, to be replaced after milking.

The teat dilator may be made of any suitable material as will beunderstood by one skilled in the art. It may for example be of metal,e.g. aluminium, or of a plastic material like polyethylene, nylon or anyother suitable material. Or the different parts, for example the cap 25,may be made of one material and the stem and cup of another material.

We claim:

A teat dilator, comprising, a tubular stem having one end for insertionin the milk duct of a bovine teat and the other for extending outwardlyfrom the teat, an annular flange extending laterally from the sternclose to its outwardly extending end leaving a relatively long portionof the stem protruding in the insertion direction and a relatively shortportion extending in the opposite direction, said flange having a cuppedsurface adjoining the long portion of the stem and adapted to abut theend of the teat when the dilator is in place in the milk duct, the longportion of the stern being stepped in diameter to have a relativelynarrow portion adjacent to said cupped surface for engagement by theteat in the region of the sphincter muscle and a wider portiontowards'the insertion end adapted to resist withdrawal past thesphincter muscle, the stem having an axial bore extending from one endto the other and at least one opening extending from the bore to thesurface of the elongated portion, the cupped surface forming with theadjoining portion of the stem a medicament applicator adapted to abutthe end of the teat as it is retained thereagainst by the action of thesphincter muscle, said cupped portion terminating in a narrow annularouter rim presenting a relatively acute edge adapted to embed itselfinto the teat to form therewith a seal for retaining medicament betweenthe cupped surface and the teat, the said thin portion of said stemhaving a diameter within the range of about .066 to about .175 of aninch, the flange at the cupped surface having a diameter within therange from about one-quarter to about threequarters of an inch, and thecupped surface having a depth at the maximum from aboutone-thirty-second to about five-thirty-seconds of an inch.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS111,932 Hewitt Feb. 21, i871 1,661,494 Nielsen Mar. 6, 1928 1,688,795Aas Oct. 23, 1928 2,547,758 Keeling Apr. 3, 1951 2,704,076 Larson Mar.15, 1955 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,047,107 France Dec. 11, 1953

